#Giants’ first-round draft pick Kadarius Toney sits out vs. Jets

Kadarius Toney did not make his NFL preseason debut in Saturday night’s 12-7 loss to the Jets, which came as no great surprise, considering he has been brought along slowly in his first NFL training camp after going on the COVID list earlier this summer.

The reason Toney was held out, though, was not based purely on caution. Coach Joe Judge said Toney has been dealing with a physical issue “for a little bit,’’ and “it’s something that was aggravated at practice toward the tail end of the week, so he was unable to play.’’

So it goes for Toney, the Giants’ first-round draft pick, who has had an extremely slow start to his NFL career. The Giants this coming week travel to Cleveland for two days of joint practices with the Browns in advance of preseason game No. 2, and there are no guarantees Toney will be on the field.

Judge said, “We’re hopeful he is,’’ when asked if Toney will be ready this week.

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WR David Sills helped himself, as far as finding a way onto the roster, catching three passes for 49 yards including a 37-yard reception on a pass from Clayton Thorson on the left sideline. … The Giants had just 98 total yards of offense early in the fourth quarter when RB Sandro Platzgummer from the 1-yard line motored 48 yards. Who? Platzgummer is an Austrian who came to the Giants in 2020 as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program.

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Rookie CB Rodarius Williams, a sixth-round pick, has been impressive this summer but his preseason debut was not strong. Williams was used as a slot corner against the Jets and was repeatedly beaten in coverage. Williams did have a 29-yard return of a recovered fumble in the fourth quarter.

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Resting their entire defensive backfield, the Giants started Isaac Yiadom, Madre Harper, Julian Love and Joshua Kalu in the secondary. The starting defensive line was B.J. Hill, Danny Shelton and Austin Johnson. The outside linebackers were Azeez Ojulari and Trent Harris and the inside linebackers were Tae Crowder and Ragland.

G Kyle Murphy left in the third quarter with an ankle injury and did not return. … TE Cole Hikutini was forced out in the third quarter with a hip issue. … Newly-signed WR Matt Cole made a nice play to keep a Riley Dixon punt from bouncing into the end zone. Cole batted the ball at the goal line and it was downed by Hikutini at the 9-yard line.

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Former Giants WR Victor Cruz pulled the curtain back on two murals unveiled Saturday night.

The contest winners, 17-year-old Tiffany Loo from Lodi, N.J. (“Thank You Silhouette’’) and 61-year-old Tricia Reilly-Matthews from Tomkins Cove (“Angels Among Us’’) created artwork to celebrate first responders, grocery and delivery workers and small business and local restaurant owners from the Tri-State area that continued to support their communities during the pandemic.

The murals will continue to be on display at MetLife Stadium.